Expansible reminder-ring.



No. 784,823. PATENTED MAR. L4, 1905.

' G- T. WHITSETT.

EXPANSIBLE REMINDER RING.

I APPLIOATION FILED MAY '7, 1904. RENEWED 1'33. 10, 1905.

'WITIVESSES: INVENTOR I czarzwzml'zsezz c Arm/m UNITED Y STATES Patented March 14, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

EXPANSIBLE REMINDER-RING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,823, dated March 14, 1905.

Application filed May '7, 1904. Renewed February 10, 1905. fierial No. 245,034.

To to whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES T. WVrII'rsETT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented anew and Improved Expansible Reminder-Ring, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an expansible finger-ring having attached thereto a plate of suitable ornamental design upon which a legend adapted to serve as a reminder is so placed that it may be easily read by the wearer of the ring when the hand bearing the ring is held in a natural position, thus adapting the ring to prevent forgetfulness of appointments,

errands, and other matters which the wearer desires to keep in mind. I

It is the common experience of almost every one that matters of importance demanding future attention at some particular time may be overlooked and serious inconvenience result from the oversight if no means be employed to serve as a reminder of such matters. So universal has such experience been that it is the general practice of business establishments to make use of mechanical devices of various kinds to serve as reminders of such matters, and many persons who wish to avoid forgetting engagements or other matters which must be attended to at certain specified times are wont to tie a piece of string about a finger or to slip a rubber band over the finger in order that the pressure upon the finger may attract attention from time to time and recall -to mind the particular matter contemplated when the string or band was applied to the finger. The use of a piece of string or rubber band for this purpose is not wholly satisfactory, though the object may be attained thereby. Neither a piece of string nor a rubber band presents a sightly or pleasing appearance, and the sensation of pressure caused upon the finger is apt to be more or less disagreeable.

The object of the present invention is to produce a very simple and inexpensive device which may be used in lieu of a bit of string or a rubber band upon the finger and which will serve to recall the attention of the wearer to any particular matter which must be attended to at a certain time.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device to be worn upon the finger which will serve as a reminder without attracting attention primarily through the pressure exerted upon the finger.

A further object of the invention is to produce an expansible ring of exceedingly simple structure which will conform automatically to the size of the wearers finger, which may be worn outside of a glove, which will present a pleasing appearance when in use, and which when not in use may be conveniently carried in the pocket or which may be laid fiat in an envelop or a purse.

The objects above mentioned and others are attained in the novel reminder-ring hereinafter fully described and having the novel features thereof clearly set forth in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form and proportions of the parts, as well as in the mode of assemblage thereof, may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hand, showing a ring constructed in accord with the present invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the ring and the plate attached thereto which bears the reminding legend. Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the ring with the plate thereon turned into a plane parallel with the plane of the ring, so that the ring and the plate thereon will lie Hat; and Fig. i is a view, upon an enlarged scale, of the blank plate upon which the legend is placed before the plate is applied to the ring proper.

Referring to the drawings by the reference characters marked thereon, l designates-thering proper, which consists of'a coil of fine wire, the whirls of which lie normally in contact and which has the ends thereof suitably connected, as by soldering, to form an annulus. The ring proper may be made from wire of any suitable character, the only essential being that the wire be possessed of suliicient elasticity to impart to the spring formed there from suflieient contractibility to restore it to its normal condition after distention. 1n the practical construction of the device, however, it will be desirable to employ a fine steel wire, which may be aluminiumized to prevent corrosion or which may be protected by plating with any suitable non-corrodible metal.

The plate 2, which bears the reminding legend, is preferably formed from a blank of the form shown in Fig. 4 and presentii'ig four symmetrically-arranged lobes or projections 3, extending radially from a central portion at and having arranged alternately with the lobes 3 an equal number of lingers or lugs 5 of suitable length, but little width. Upon the obverse of the plate 2 the words Dont forget, or any other words of similar import, are displayed, preferably in raised letters, as shown in Fig. 1, the surface of the plate beingornamented, if desired, by the formation of a raised rim about the margin of each lobe or in any other suitable manner. The legend, whether consisting of the words Dont forget or others, may be applied to the plate 2 in any suitable manner; but I prefer to make use of the words mentioned and to have them arranged as shown in Fig. 1, the word Forget being so placed as to extend longitudinally across the oppositely-situated pair of lobes and the word l)ont being disposed at right angles thereto, the word Forget extending directly through the word Dont.

ln securing the plate 2 upon the annulus l I simply bend the lingers or lugs 5 about the annulus, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lingers or lugs being long enough to completely encircle the annulus and meet on the inside thereof. The adjacent ends of the lingers or lugs 5 may be soldered together, if desired; but such fastening is not essential, and the lugs must not be rigidly attached to the annulus, so as to prevent the turning of the plate thereon.

In the construction of the plate 2 any suitable material may be employed; but 1 ordinarily use metal on account of its expansible charactenand the ease with which it may be given the desired form and ornamented to any desired extent. Metal is also desirable because plates formed therefrom are not easily injured and do not occupy much space. \/V hen a ring is provided with a metallic plate of the character shown in the drawings, the plate lies in close contact with the linger of the wearer when the ring is in use, and when the ring is not in use the plate is turned into a plane parallel with that of the annulus, so that the whole structure lies flat and may be readily inclosed within an envelop for mailing or be carried without inconvenience in the vestpocket or a pocket-book.

The use of the ring will be understood at a glance. The annulus is slipped over any one of the wearers lingers and the plate is disposed upon the back of the linger, so that it will be frequently brought into view when the ring is used in the ordinary employments of every-day life. It is of course to be understood that when it is not necessary to charge the mind of the wearer of the ring with any particular matter requiring future attention the ring will not be worn, and hence whenever the ring is worn it will attract attention to itself.

If desired, the ring may serve not only as a means for attracting attention to itself and to any ideas associated with the placing of the ring on the linger; but it may also serve as a means for securing a small memorand um. If used for the purpose last mentioned, the paper or other material bearing the memorandum must be folded so as to slip readily through the annulus between the coil of wire of which the annulus is formed and the linger upon which the ring is worn.

WVhile I have shown the invention as embodied in a ring bearing a plate of a special design presenting four lobes and resembling a four-leaved clover to symbolize good fortune or luck, it is obvious that a plate made of entirely different contour may be used and, if desired, the plate may bear in addition to the legend which serves as a reminder any other matter which it is desired to place thereon-such, for example, as a catch phrase for advertising purposes.

Having thus described the nature and use of my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A linger-ring comprising a coil-spring, a plate having separated projections, and lingers situated between the projections and embracing the spring.

2. A linger-rii'ig comprising acoil-spring, a plate having pairs of separated DI'OjGCtlODS, lingers situated between the projections and embracing the spring, and a legend extending in opposite directions across the projections.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES l. WHITSETT.

\Vitnesses:

BAXTER Mon'roN, EVERARD BoL'roN MAnsnALL. 

